Denial of a speedy trial
In
jurisprudence,
denial of a speedy trial is a
procedural defense via which, a
defendant argues that they should not be held
criminally liable for
actionss which broke the
law, because the
criminal justice system placed them in
prison for an "unreasonable" length of
time (prior to any
trial). In the
US, this defense is based upon the
6th Constitutional Amendment; which states: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public trial..." In many jurisdictions, if a defendant remains imprisoned for more than 90-120 days, before a trial occurs, all charges are automatically dropped.